Hamas accuses Israel of removing rubble containing remains of Gaza’s missing

Hamas has accused Israel of “destroying evidence” in Gaza by collecting and removing rubble that may contain the remains of people still missing after the war.

In a statement, the Palestinian Islamist group said handling sites, human remains and other evidence could violate international law and an International Court of Justice ruling that requires the preservation of evidence. It called the alleged removal of remains “an attack on the dignity of the martyrs and the right of their families to recover and bury their loved ones.”

About 7,400 bodies remain missing in Gaza, buried under rubble or located in inaccessible areas, Zaher al-Waheidi, director of the unit responsible for counting deaths at Gaza’s Health Ministry, told EFE.

“

Destroying evidence of atrocity crimes is illegal, it is unacceptable that Gaza’s reconstruction should be conditioned on erasing its past and the evidence needed to ensure justice for its victims.

More than 53% of Gaza beyond the so-called Yellow Line remains under Israeli military control and inaccessible to Palestinians, according to the report. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces control up to 60% of the territory. The area is subject to regular military demolitions, raising concern that human remains could be affected by construction and rubble-clearing operations.

The accusation came hours after Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestine, warned that large-scale rubble removal in areas under Israeli military control could be used to erase traces of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. “Destroying evidence of atrocity crimes is illegal,” Albanese said. “It is unacceptable that Gaza’s reconstruction should be conditioned on erasing its past and the evidence needed to ensure justice for its victims.”

“

An attack on the dignity of the martyrs and the right of their families to recover and bury their loved ones.